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I’ll never forget the day I spoke to Monty, the father of Holly, a young woman who died at the age of 18 as a result of a chemical abortion. She had graduated from high school a few months earlier and was going to college. A local family planning system that provides abortion pills.
She died of septic shock a few weeks later.
Monty, a self-identified pro-choice man, told me he wants to do all he can to educate people about the dangers of chemical abortion.
Chemical abortion, or abortion pills, puts an additional strain on a woman’s health and causes many health complications. (Reuters/Andrew Kelly/File Photo)
The sad reality is that chemical abortions, or abortions with abortion pills, are much more taxing on a woman’s health and cause many health complications. In fact, the Food and Drug Administration’s abortion pill label warns that approximately one in every 25 women who take the drug will end up in the emergency room.
Chemical abortion harms women.The Supreme Court cannot ignore them
The Supreme Court will soon hear oral arguments in the case FDA v. Hippocrates Medical Alliance, where the court will consider whether the Food and Drug Administration has failed in its primary mission of protecting the public’s health. To ensure the safety and effectiveness of medicines.
I would like to argue that the FDA is doing a grave disservice to women and girls around the world in the name of abortion.
In 2000, when the FDA first approved the use of an abortion pill (mifepristone and misoprostol combination therapy) to terminate a pregnancy, it established safety standards to account for the inherent risks associated with chemical abortion. .
Women were required to see a doctor before taking abortion pills, to see a doctor before an abortion, and to receive treatment for an abortion. This was very important to protect the safety of women taking these drugs.
In addition, prescribers were required to report all serious complications (adverse events) that occurred to the FDA, and the reports were made public through the website.
I had 4 abortions.Abortion pills were the worst, but women don’t understand the full story
Inexplicably, in 2016, the FDA removed most of these safety standards, reducing the number of in-person physician visits for women seeking chemical abortions from three to one, and requiring all prescribers except in cases of death. The reporting requirement was removed and safety standards were extended. The “safe” period for women to take the drug is seven to 10 weeks, putting women and young girls at greater risk.
To make matters worse, in 2021, the FDA completely eliminated the in-person dispensing requirement for mifepristone, making it possible to obtain the drug by mail without meeting a medical professional in person.
Abortion pills are distributed by mail across state lines and national borders, creating additional risks for women seeking them. Virtually all meaningful safety measures were eliminated, leaving women at significant risk of complications.
For example, consider that a woman cannot determine the true gestational age of her fetus or whether she has a dangerous ectopic pregnancy without seeing a doctor in person.
Women are turning to the black market to obtain ‘dangerous’ abortion pills, pro-life group says
If a woman suffers an undiagnosed ectopic pregnancy and then takes an abortion pill, it can lead to extreme health complications, as the typical side effects to the abortion pill are similar to those of a life-threatening ruptured ectopic pregnancy. You are much more likely to face complications and loss of life.
According to the FDA limited Data collection shows that since the drug was approved in 2000, 4,218 women have experienced side effects from the drug, 1,049 have been hospitalized, 604 have experienced severe blood loss, and 418 have become infected. Have you ever had a disease?
Sadly, 32 women we know of have died from these complications from abortion pills.
Alyona Dixon tragically lost her life after taking abortion pills. She suffered from sepsis after her abortion. Her infection went undiagnosed and ultimately claimed her life. Her husband lost his wife and her son lost his mother. Had proper safety regulations been in place, this incident could probably have been avoided and her life saved.
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Abortion pills also often have a heart-breaking emotional toll on women who become abortionists, ingest them, and then tragically watch their babies die. The sad reality is that many women face mental health effects months and years after an abortion.
Many studies show that women who have abortions have higher rates of depression, anxiety, PTSD, and substance abuse. My heart breaks for the women who go through this situation. March for Life always strives to emphasize that there is hope and healing possible after abortion.
Women and girls deserve far better than the significant risks they are currently exposed to from the inadvertent repeal of important FDA safeguards regarding abortion drugs. If you take these medications, you must have access to ongoing in-person care from a qualified physician. They deserve protection, care, guidance, and most of all love and support.
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My hope is that the court will hold the FDA accountable for prioritizing abortion advocacy over women’s health and restore common-sense standards and protections for the distribution of abortion pills.
For women like Holly and Alyona, having such standards in place could have been the difference between life and death. Until that happens, we at March for Life want to ensure that no woman believes chemical abortion is her only option, and that the pro-life movement supports every woman and every child. We will continue our activities to help people understand what we are here to protect and protect.
Click here to read more from Jeanne Mancini
